Kindlegraph

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Weekday Weimariner

I guess it's a trend: dogs that decide they aren't happy where they are and go find a new place to live. At least that's what a young Weimariner named Flynn has done. He lives about a mile or so down the road from us. His family is busy, they have kids, and a new baby. So he doesn't get much love at home. They have another dog, but she's much older and not a playmate.

One cold morning during March, my husband saw something in the bushes next to the house. He went out to investigate and found a sorry, bony looking Weimariner. Of course, both of us are animal lovers. We couldn't just let him suffer. So we fed him, bathed him, and the next day took him to the vet. His collar had writing on it, but it was too faded to read. The vet said that despite being very underweight, the dog was in good shape. He said to hold onto him for a week and see if anyone came by to claim him. If not, he would probably be ours.

The next day, "Bones" we'd started calling him, was out in the yard around the farm house playing with Wellie and Lola. A car pulled up and a lady got out and said he was her dog. His real name is Flynn and he's about 3 years old now. She explained that he was usually good and stayed home, but since she was due to deliver a baby soon, that she'd been in and out of hospital for quite some time. We explained that we didn't know and tried to find out who the owner was. He went home with her, and we didn't see him for a couple of weeks.

Thinking we'd seen the last of Flynn, we thought about getting another younger dog to play with Wellie. He's part American bulldog and has tons of energy. He needs someone to play with. Well, one morning I went out to go feed the horses and there's Flynn on the front porch to greet me. Of course this made Wellie happy. Flynn stayed around for probably 4 days before disappearing back home. We'd see him laying in the sun outside his house as we drove by.

Flynn seems to have a schedule. Usually Monday or Tuesday he shows up on our doorstep. He must sleep in one of our nearby barns because he's always up early to greet me. On the days he "lives" with us, he gets fed twice a day and can play with Wellie anytime he's out. On Friday nights (like clockwork) he goes home. He must know that his family and the kids are home from work and school so they will play with him. Once Monday rolls around again, he's usually heading back to us. I guess you can't say animals are stupid (for the most part) because he knows where he can get the most love, food, and playtime.

I'm not sure how long this will continue on. I do worry when he's out on the road that a car or truck will hit him. When he's with us, I do my best to keep him safe and out of trouble, but in the end, he's not really our dog. Part of me hopes the owner will realize he's happier elsewhere. But until that happens, we're just happy to have the weekday Weimariner.